JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team opened the 2013 portion of the season with a 58-45 loss against Jacksonville at Veterans Memorial Arena Wednesday.

Jacksonville (6-7, 2-0 A-Sun) scored the first seven points of the game, but Lipscomb (1-11, 0-2 A-Sun) battled back to pull within one, 10-9. The Dolphins finished the first half on a 20-8 run to grab a 13-point lead at halftime.

Lipscomb found itself down by 18 with 2:53 left in the second half and then freshman guard Kelli Smith knocked down back-to-back 3 pointers to cut the Dolphin’s lead down to 12. The Lady Bisons tied the Dolphins in the second half with 28 points.

“The last part of the second half, I liked our lineup and our rotation that we had,” Lipscomb head coach Greg Brown said. “We played them even the rest of the way out. We dug ourselves too big of a hole.

“I liked the way we played in the last eight or 10 minutes. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win. But I liked what I saw coming out of the game and going to the next one."

Smith tied her career-high and led the team with 14 points. Smith also had 14 points Monday against North Florida.

The Nashville, Tenn., native also added four rebounds and five assists against the Dolphins. Smith was 5-for-8, including 4-for-7 beyond the 3-point line.

“You ask her to do something and she’s going to do it to the best of her ability, every single time,” Brown said of Smith. “She works as hard as she can and executes. As a coach, I appreciate that.”